So let’s hope this Phish show was a metaphor for life. Brutal 2025. Amazing 2026!!!

#Scriptsky one of the best things you can do to help improve/motivate your writing is to read more books. It’s not a 1:1 correlation but most of the best writers I’ve worked with are voracious readers. And I’d encourage you to mix up genres, fiction and non-fiction. Here’s a 🧵 on my favs of 2026. 🧵1

I can help teach a new writer story structure, but I can’t teach them how to harness their own voice. Like Jon, my first two pilots got a lot of positive attention. My next couple were overly focused on rules and checking boxes, and weren’t nearly as impactful.

I took my 8 and 11 year old daughters to LACMA today. I LOVE listening to their insights and opinions about art. My 11 year old was checking out a Jackson Pollack painting and said, “It’s chaotic and yet calming, cuz when you look closer, there’s order in the chaos.” I’m gonna steal that line!

TIL cartons are better at preventing milk from spoiling than the plastic containers. www.chefsresource.com/faq/why-does...

There are things in life that you can control and things you can’t; focus on what you can control. That’s been my mantra since 2017. And it’s what I tell people to focus on when it comes to writing. So this week’s #Scriptsky #Screenwriting thread is about PROCESS VS RESULTS. 🧵1

Just gonna say this again for games sphere cus we get the same question: Networking doesn't mean schmoozing up to famous people, it means making friends with your peers. Then in 10 years, 20, one of you might be famous? And sure you're still helping each other cus well yeah friends. Make. Friends.

There are things in life that you can control and things you can’t; focus on what you can control. That’s been my mantra since 2017. And it’s what I tell people to focus on when it comes to writing. So this week’s #Scriptsky #Screenwriting thread is about PROCESS VS RESULTS. 🧵1

All this 15 year old pup wanted for Christmas was non-stop pets and scritches. And she got ‘em. #DogsOfBluesky #Dogs

My favorite Christmas book is, “One Thousand Christmas Beards” by Roger Duvoisin. It’s the story of Santa viciously assaulting all the people dressing up like him and stealing their fake Santa beards. Seriously.

My favorite part of holidays are cooking for my family. Tonight, we had two Melissa Clark recipes: Roman lamb over cheese polenta (pommes purée for the kids) and dark chocolate pudding w/ homegrown blackberry sauce. Plus, my wife and kids made a Yule log with meringue mushrooms.

Help me solve a Christmas mystery… There was a huge Amazon box on our doorstep this morning addressed to my 8 year old. Inside, there were plates and glasses. No one we know ordered them for us. So uh… what the hell is going on? Is this what happens when you wait until Dec 24 to make a Santa list?

My wife and I decided not to shop at Target, Walmart, and Amazon in 2025. We weren’t perfect but spent less than $100 and managed to make Christmas happen only spending $15 between the three companies. It’s not much, but it felt good to support less awful businesses.

My 11 year old just wrote a wishlist for Santa (that we aren’t allowed to see). She said, “If he’s real, he’ll get me something from it.” I spent the next 30 minutes explaining building/wrapping/packing/shipping logistics of the North Pole and why she was royally fucking over Santa.

When we did the punch-up on my very first script for Big City Greens, one of the writers who’d been on the show for a couple years said, “This script feels like 100% the tone of the show but also something only you could’ve possibly written.” That’s always what I’m aiming for.

Looking for some new Christmas programming? Big City Greens has you covered. Check out: “Green Christmas,” “Virtually Christmas,” and “Dream Tree.” The latter two were written by this Jew, but are still very much holiday appropriate.

This is a good move for Ben Simmons, because unlike most forms of hunting, fishing doesn’t involve any shooting. #NBA andscape.com/features/ben...

Rewatched A Few Good Men for the first time in 20+ years. What a banger! It’s 33 years old and yet it feels so timely. I know the court scene between Nicholson and Cruise gets parodied a lot and feels sorta over the top out of context, but it works so damn well. What a thriller!

A script is well-structured, it flows well, the story math checks out, and yet... readers aren’t responding to it. There’s a good chance they’re getting ahead of the story, ‘cuz it’s too predictable. Here’s a quick #Scriptsky #Screenwriting thread on ANTICIPATION and SUBVERTING EXPECTATIONS. 🧵1

My 8YO was bouncing off the walls when I was reading to her. She told me she was just, “Feeling her feelings.”

Good thread. I’ll add: on the comedy side, sometimes demonstrating your unique voice is as simple as writing a few killer jokes. Far too many writers pick the low hanging fruit, but anytime I read a script where I know I couldn’t have come up with the joke but wish I had, I walk away impressed.

Rob Reiner did an event for Syracuse University in LA. He told stories and answered questions. And of course he was funny, but I was blown away by how humble, and generous, and kind he seemed. His humanity was just so damn palpable as he spoke. Then, during the Q&A a college kid asked him… 1

This one fucked me up. So I’m watching The Princess Bride. I saw it for the first time in 2nd grade when I slept over at my friend PBJ’s house. It became my favorite movie. It’s remained one of my favorites. It was the 1st movie my wife and I saw together. One of the first movies I showed my kids.

On the most recent season of Platonic (Apple), one of the characters develops a catchphrase for her podcast: “Don’t ask, don’t get.” There’s some truth to this in Hollywood but only some. So this week’s #Scriptsky #Screenwriting thread is on FAVORS. When/when not to ask and what to ask for. 🧵1

My daughters have a friend sleeping over. They watched a movie and then spent the last two hours writing, practicing, and performing songs with a ukulele and hand drums about subjects like pterodactyls eating cheeseburgers. Not gonna lie, it was pretty awesome. Hope they never lose this creativity.

Helpful thread. I'd add: when asking, make sure it's in the realm of possibility. Ex: actor ask me to help them get on a tv show I was DPing. Waste of an ask & showed that they hadn't done their research. Irks me when people don't understand my role. I'm not pitching casting to my Showrunner

A rising tide lifts all boats. The more people you know in positions to help, the better. Find people who look out for and help each other, and you have a much better chance of “making it.”

On the most recent season of Platonic (Apple), one of the characters develops a catchphrase for her podcast: “Don’t ask, don’t get.” There’s some truth to this in Hollywood but only some. So this week’s #Scriptsky #Screenwriting thread is on FAVORS. When/when not to ask and what to ask for. 🧵1

My lowest queue number was 11K. My highest was 95K. I blame Drew Carey.

My Grandmother once pulled my mom aside and told her she had been thinking and had something very important to tell her. My mom thought maybe this was the start of an emotional breakthrough. But my grandmother merely said, “I want you to know that that dress makes you look very fat.”

Unfortunately, I can’t make it to @taperschoice.bsky.social tomorrow night in Venice. Anyone want a free ticket? Very special show. They’re celebrating the one week anniversary of their West Side debut.

If you missed him at the Dolby Theater, here’s another chance to catch this incredible show. And at one of the best outdoor venues in the country.

My timeline is real depressing. And understandably so. But we could all use a few more laughs in our life, and this one made me laugh very hard.

When I was a production assistant on The Office, the only writing of mine that anyone read was the catering menu I typed up each day for the crew. But I realized the menu was my chance to impress the writers. So here’s a quick #Scriptsky #Screenwriting thread on HIDDEN OPPORTUNITIES. 🧵1

The whole entertainment business is topsy-turvy right now, but this thread is still good advice, too which I’d add: be yourself while you’re working hard and making yourself indispensable. Don’t try to be someone you’re not; inauthenticity is a red flag and you won’t feel good about yourself.

This is a great thread. It applies to working in TV (my PA work got me promoted because I would cheerfully offer to do and learn more things), but also really any field. And it's really important to be someone people WANT to be around and work with.

On my 5th job title in 13 years at the same office because of advice like Nate's. Making yourself valuable in little ways and being a good human to be around makes a huge difference, but you gotta be ready to shoot your shot and know when to pull the trigger if opportunity arises

This is a great thread that hits on a lot of points I share with graphic design/advertising students & young professionals: Do great work, but also be cool and curious and add positive energy to the room. And as you make your way, always pay it forward for those coming up.

"be a helpful and solid hang" is genuinely good advice. you also have to strike the balance between self-advocacy and not coming across as too thirsty. professional networks are really just... a bunch of people. they want to see good work done by folks they like.

When I was a production assistant on The Office, the only writing of mine that anyone read was the catering menu I typed up each day for the crew. But I realized the menu was my chance to impress the writers. So here’s a quick #Scriptsky #Screenwriting thread on HIDDEN OPPORTUNITIES. 🧵1

Share a screenwriting tip #Scriptsky We’re well into the era of postmodernist TV/Film. Audiences are savvy. They’re trying to get ahead of your story. Use that to your advantage and subvert tropes and their expectations (while remaining truthful). Keep them on their toes and they won’t get bored.

I saw SML last night for $25. Had a front row seat for their show in the round. It was some of the best improvised music I’ve ever seen. Makes me less keen to spend all my retirement savings to see #Phish at the Sphere. But I’ll probably try to do it anyway.

I’m struggling to think of a bassist that I enjoy watching play more than Anna Butterss. (Other bassists I’ve seen this year include: Jorge Roeder, Victor Wooten, Mike Gordon, Oteil Burbidge)

Me: “My daughters are so smart and clever!” Also Me: “I was doing my daughters’ laundry and discovered that they left gummy worms and slices of salami in their pants’ pockets.”

I was camping with my family since Wednesday and was off my phone the whole time (which was lovely). So no new #Screenwriting 🧵 this week. But I wanted to offer some belated appreciation to all the #Scriptsky folks who have welcomed me into the fold and shared my posts. Thank you!

Stuffing waffles have become my signature Thanksgiving dish. www.seriouseats.com/stuffing-waf... HT: @chopaganda.bsky.social

Name an unheralded profession you have immense respect for. For me, it’s movers. Two thicc Russians came to my house to take out my broken washer and old dryer. They understood angles and the geometry of tight spaces like they were Euclid. Got them out in 15 minutes - would’ve taken me 15 years.

This all makes perfect sense when you understand that the thing Musk wants most in this world (even more than white supremacy) is the one thing his gajillions of dollars can’t buy: the ability to make others laugh.

In addition to coaching my younger daughter’s AYSO team this season, I reffed 20+ games. My biggest takeaway: youth sports would be infinitely better if parents were banned from attending games. That, and that one kid on the green team is a real dick!

I saw David Byrne at the Dolby Theatre (where the Oscars are held) and decided I’d try to combine my job (writing) with one of my biggest passions (live music) for this week’s #Scriptsky #Screenwriting thread. Sounds odd, but the elements that made Bryne’s show so incredible overlap with writing. 🧵1